A Critique of President Obama's State of the Union Address 2012 - Part 1

     I chose to write about President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address because of the fact that it is one of the most important speeches given by presidents annually.  The importance is magnified by the fact that 2012 is a presidential election year and the Republican primaries are under way.  The address outlines what the president has in mind for congress to deliberate on for that year.  This is based on Article II, Sec. 3, of the U.S. Constitution that states, 

The President shall from time to time give to Congress information of the State of the Union and recommend to their Consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.

     President Barack Obama delivered his annual State of the Union address Tuesday night January 25^th, 2012 in Washington D.C.  CNN.com has the full coverage of the speech in two parts; Part 1 and Part 2.  In this speech, the text of which can be found here, the President laid out many current issues and challenges facing the American people today and provided solutions while invoking Congress to pass them and calling on the American people to support him.

     The President began his speech by paying tribute to our heroes in uniform; the United States military, and their brave accomplishments and sacrifice.  He acknowledged credit for ending a war that stretched almost 10 years and took a heavy toll on the lives of those whose loved ones were killed in action.  He also spoke about the killing of Osama Bin Laden and top leaders of Al-Qaedah.  He proclaimed, "For the first time in two decades, Osama bin Laden is not a threat to this country."  Until here, he received a standing ovation from everyone in the audience and I join them in full agreement.  

     However, what he forgot to mention was the unnecessary killing of innocent Iraqi men, women, and children.  I say unnecessary due to the fact that the war was justified on the grounds that Saddam Husain had weapons of mass destruction.  It is now known to the general public, thanks to our media reports, that there were no weapons of mass destruction.  Obama had initially opposed any attack on Iraq calling it a “dumb war” and in his landmark speech on June 4, 2009 in Cairo, Egypt, he said, “Iraq was a war of choice that provoked strong differences in my country and around the world."  

     Then the President touched on some key economic issues like unemployment, taxes and Wall Street’s unbridled power.  He encouraged bringing jobs back to the U.S. and discouraged outsourcing of jobs.  He said that it was unfair that those who outsource jobs are able to circumvent taxes while those who hire inland are taxed.  He proposed that both should be taxed fairly.  He said, “It is time to stop rewarding businesses that ship jobs overseas, and start rewarding companies that create jobs right here in America.”  I totally agree with that because this is what is best for the American people. 

     He also mentioned that the wealthy have to pay their share of taxes.  He outlined that with an eye-opening example of Warren Buffet paying the same rate of taxes as his secretary.  This is known as the Buffet Rule. Any sane and sensible person would agree that it is far more difficult for a person earning $50k a year to pay 30% compared to a person earning $10 million.  He also supported tax breaks for small businesses so that they can prosper and hire more.

     He condemned unfair trade practices conducted by multinational companies in China and elsewhere, and promised to curb them.  He also promised to sign into law any legislation that would help put an end to pirated American goods and the proliferation of foreign products that lead to the loss of American jobs.  He proclaimed that he is willing to take any steps necessary to open up trade in any place on earth and that he will pass any law that will deter foreign companies gaining advantage over American companies.  He promised more inspection to prevent unsafe and counterfeit goods from entering the country.

To be continued…